1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wear member for a railway vehicle and to a method of making such a wear member.
2. Prior Art Statement
Wear members are used in various applications in the railway industry for the purpose of protecting relatively movable components against excessive wear. Examples of railway vehicle wear members are presented in the following items:
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,618, PA1 (2) U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,180, PA1 (3) U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,039, PA1 (4) U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,007, and PA1 (5) U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,384.
It appears from item (1) that a wear member, in the form of a U-shaped pedestal liner, is provided which consists of a bight and a pair of parallel legs wherein the parallel legs serve as mounting brackets for the pedestal liner and the bight has an inserted nylon wear plate which is unsupported in the central portion of the bight.
It appears from item (2) that a pedestal liner is provided which consists of two main components, both made of elastomeric material, and wherein one component is U-shaped and has a flat bight and parallel legs which are provided with so-called spacing washers and the other component is a sheet-like insert.
It appears from item (3) that a wear member is provided comprised of a support having a continuous supporting surface and an ultra high molecular weight polymeric material is attached to the supporting surface by utilizing attaching means comprised of a metal structure.
It appears from item (4) that a U-shaped pedestal liner is provided which comprises a continuous uninterrupted sheet-like backing material defining the bight and parallel legs thereof and wherein ultra high molecular weight polymeric material is supported by the backing material.
It appears from item (5) that a U-shaped pedestal liner is provided comprised of a roughly U-shaped metal support which employs an insert which is readily installed and removed.
However, railway vehicle wear members including coupler carrier wear members, pedestal liners, and the like generally utilize support structures or supports for antifriction components thereof which have various deficiencies. Typical deficiencies include the use of excessive amounts of comparatively expensive material to define the support whereby the associated wear member is not cost competitive; or, the use of insufficient amounts of material or poor design resulting in the support having inadequate structural strength for its intended function.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved wear member for a railway vehicle.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved wear member for a railway vehicle wherein such wear member is a pedestal liner.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method of making a wear member.
Other aspects, embodiments, objects, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following specification, claims, and drawings.